Decathlon vs. Pentathlon: What’s the Difference?

Main Difference

The main difference between Decathlon and Pentathlon is that the Decathlon is a athletic track and field competition and Pentathlon is a combined sporting event of five contests

• Decathlon

  The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word “decathlon” was formed, in analogy to the word “pentathlon”, from Greek δέκα (déka, meaning “ten”) and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning “contest” or “prize”). Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.

  Traditionally, the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete” has been given to the person who wins the decathlon, thus the world’s greatest athlete of all times is the record-man of decathlon (Kevin Mayer as of September 2018). This began when King Gustav V of Sweden told Jim Thorpe, “You, sir, are the world’s greatest athlete” after Thorpe won the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.The event is similar to the pentathlon held at the ancient Greek Olympics, and also similar to a competition called an “all-around”, which was contested at the United States amateur championships in 1884. Another all-around was held at the 1904 Summer Olympics. The modern decathlon first appeared at the 1912 Games.The current official decathlon world record holder is French Kevin Mayer, who scored a total of 9,126 points at the 2018 Décastar in France.

• Pentathlon

  A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition) (Greek: πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games. Five events were contested over one day for the Ancient Olympic pentathlon, starting with the long jump, javelin throwing, and discus throwing, followed by the stadion (a short foot race) and wrestling. Pentathletes were considered to be among the most skilled athletes, and their training was often part of military service—each of the five events in the pentathlon was thought to be useful in war or battle.

  With the revival of the Olympic Games in the modern era, the pentathlon returned in two formats. The athletics pentathlon was a modern variation on the original events, with a competition over five track and field events. The modern pentathlon, invented by Pierre de Coubertin (father of the Modern Olympics), was a variation on the military aspect of the Ancient pentathlon. It focused on the skills required by a late-19th-century soldier, with competitions in shooting, swimming, fencing, equestrianism, and cross country running.

  A prominent aspect of modern pentathlons is the point system, whereby each competitor is awarded a certain number of points based on their performance in each specific event. The overall winner is the competitor with the highest point total at the end of the five pentathlon events.

• Decathlon (noun)

  An athletic contest consisting of ten events which includes sprinting, hurdling, jumping, and throwing over a span of two days.

• Decathlon (noun)

  A contest in science and math proving skill.

• Pentathlon (noun)

  An ancient athletics discipline, featuring five events: stadion, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus

• Pentathlon (noun)

  Modern pentathlon.

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